Hiking NY: A Section of the Finger Lakes Trail at Letchworth

Yesterday Bradley and I took advantage of a warmer day and headed south to Letchworth Gorge to hike a portion of the Finger Lakes Trail. We have hiked the SW side of the gorge where the popular waterfalls are in the state park, but I had not been to the eastern side which is less traveled.

We parked at the Hogsback Overlook and hit the trail! We did pass a couple other people out, but otherwise it was very quiet and serene.

It had rained the night before, so parts of the trail were pretty muddy. We did have a few small creeks and ravines to pass over as well.

We came across a few amazing views of the gorge! Breathtaking.

My GPS recorder killed my battery, so I lost track of mileage at around 1.7 miles in. I estimate we hiked about 4.5 miles and made it to a lean to just by the powerlines. We took a much needed snack break, then turned around and headed back! After a long winter inside with not much activity, our legs were really feeling the burn!

We were happy to be back to the car, and felt satisfied with our accomplishment. And Brad did great for the distance we covered! Can't wait till the next hike. This one will be a great trail to backpack as well!

Staying Busy

We've been keeping ourselves occupied here at the Pierce house! One thing I have been doing is saving the heels from loaves of bread. I've been stashing them in the freezer until I had enough, then I chopped them up and tossed with oil and spices. I baked them in the oven and voila! Homemade croutons. Delish!

I also used some of my dried herbs to make teabags for a friend! I love a good cup of herbal tea.

We had a beautiful day last week that was sunny and in the 60s! I took full advantage and we all went outside. Jacob played in his car, Brad rode ride his bike, I pruned my fruit trees and rose garden...and Cinnabun got to go outside for her first time! We recently got her a pen and she didn't know what to think! After a bit she realized she could eat the grass, then she was a fan.

I'm taking the next step in gardening--Starting my own seeds! I bought a grow light and started some seeds recently. A few had already sprouted, so I transplanted those today and moved them into larger containers under the light. Grow baby grow! If things go well, I'll end up getting a second light.

Since the kids are home for awhile thanks to the plague....we are keeping them busy with homework and educational things to occupy and enrich. If the weather perks up, I'll be taking them out hiking somewhere for "PE"!

Girls Trip to Toronto!

Girls just wanna have fun! Prior to this trip, I had never been to Toronto and in fact had only ever walked over the Rainbow bridge and stayed right by the Falls. My besties Brigid and Jessica and I were all able to coordinate an elusive day off work together so we got out of town!

It was about a 2hr drive from Buffalo (we accidentally took the 407 and are anxiously awaiting to see how much the toll is...) and we stayed at the Liberty Suites Hotel right outside of Toronto in North York. It was a great room with a sitting area, kitchenette, and a beautiful view from the 18th floor.

Our first evening there was chilly and rainy, but the rain cleared up during our rush hour drive into downtown and by the time we parked it was clear! Perfect for walking the city.

It was dinner time and we were getting hangry so we stopped into an Irish pub (and just happened to have a waitress from Ireland!). We shared some appetizers and drinks before hitting the streets again.

We headed for the Ripley's Aquarium and spent a couple of hours checking out the amazing tanks and exhibits. I highly recommend it! We even got to touch a shark, stingray, and horseshoe crab.

When we finished up there, it was almost 10:30pm so we started making our way back to the car. We popped into a Tim Hortons for a final cup of coffee and just happened to catch them right before closing...which resulted in us getting 2 bags full of free donuts!! We love Tim's.

The next morning we got breakfast in the lobby then got ready for the day and checked out of our room at about 11am. We headed back into downtown for a beautiful sunshiny morning of more sightseeing!

We headed for the St Lawrence Market to see the vendors and hunt for lunch. There were so many great things to see in there.

Crocodile and Kangaroo meat!

The cheese and olive bars seduced us, so we made a couple of sampler bowls with crackers and a side of turkey pot pie for our lunch! The cheese is goat cheese with thyme and honey. YUM

We walked a bit more downtown (and got Tim's again of course!) then headed back to the car to battle rush hour once again getting away from downtown. We stopped in at Ikea (which is a day trip in itself) for a couple hours of browsing, then finally headed for the US border and got back into Buffalo around 7:30pm.

Such a fun time with my girls! Lots of memories.